A 66-year-old male farmer was killed in a tractor rollover incident.
The victim was discing a small tobacco plot near his home when
he lost control of his tractor. It went over an embankment, rolled
one-half turn and landed on the victim before rolling further
down the embankment. It was not equipped with a rollover protective
structure (ROPS) or a seatbelt; its brakes were inoperable. The
victim was pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner.
In order to prevent similar incidents, the KY FACE investigator
concluded that:

tractors should be retrofitted with Roll Over Protective Structures
and seatbelts;

equipment should be kept in good working condition;

operators of farm equipment should have regular medical examinations
by a qualified physician.

INTRODUCTION

On 8 May 1995, KY FACE was notified by a coroner of the death
on 7 May 1995 of a farmer. An investigation was immediately initiated.
The case was discussed by telephone with the county coroner, and
on 31 May 1995, a KY FACE investigator traveled to the scene to
continue the investigation. The coroner and the victim's widow
were interviewed, measurements and photographs of the scene were
taken, and copies of the coroner's report and photo negatives
were obtained and reviewed. The emergency medical personnel who
had responded to the call were not available on the day of the
investigation, but were later interviewed via telephone. There
were no eyewitnesses to this incident.

INVESTIGATION

The victim had been a farmer all his life, raising tobacco on
his 80 acres of land. He had also been a maintenance supervisor
for a state university until 1984, when he retired from that position.
This was to have been the first season that he planted only a
small portion of his land, a relatively flat plateau of ground
behind his house. He had a history of heart disease (spasms),
and was on several medications for this condition. He had complained
of not feeling well for several days prior to this incident, but
his wife reported that he seemed to have been all right when he
went out that morning to disc the small field.

The International 424 diesel tractor was manufactured in approximately
1966. Its rear tires were half-filled with fluid and it had spread
front wheels. Horsepower (PTO) was 36.91, weight 3888 pounds.
It was not equipped with counterweights, seatbelt, or rollover
protective structure (ROPS). Its brakes had not worked for some
time, according to family members. Its only attachment was the
disc that the victim had been working with just prior to this
incident.

Although there were no eyewitnesses to this incident, the victim
was working near enough to his home (1000-1500 yards) that his
wife could hear the tractor's motor running. At about 1:45 pm
she heard a "clang" and then the sound of the tractor
idling, so she went to check. She found her husband gasping or
attempting to talk, so she ran to call for help. Neighbors arrived
and turned off the tractor; they believed the victim to be already
dead. Emergency medical personnel, as well as the coroner, who
received the call while on duty with the fire department, arrived
at 2:03 pm. EMS personnel detected no pulse or respiration. The
coroner pronounced the victim dead at the scene at 2:15 pm.

From the evidence available, the following scenario is offered
as a possible explanation for this incident: The victim was working
in a relatively small and level plot which drops off on one side
at a slope of about 13 degrees for a distance of about three feet,
and then continues to drop at a slope of approximately 25 degrees.
His tire marks indicated that he had been turning around at the
ends of the rows, very near this drop-off. Apparently the rear
tires of the tractor went over the edge and the tractor rolled
backward 180 degrees, landed on the victim, and then rolled another
180 degrees, finally coming to rest upright when stopped by trees
on the hillside. The victim's body was found lying approximately
20 feet down the hill, with no open wounds. He had scrapes, bruises,
and displacement of the left side of the chest and stomach, indicating
blunt-force trauma. The tractor came to rest another 30 feet farther
down the hill (a total of 50 feet from the field).

CAUSE OF DEATH

Cause of death as stated on the coroner's report was (a) blunt
force trauma to chest, (b) due to farm tractor accident, (c) possible
MI. No autopsy was performer

RECOMMENDATIONS/DISCUSSION

Recommendation #1: Tractor owners should contact
their county extension agent, equipment dealer or equipment manufacturer
to see if retrofit rollover protection and operator restraint
systems are available for their equipment.

Discussion: The tractor involved in this incident,
manufactured in 1966, was not equipped with ROPS or a seatbelt,
which protect the operator in the event of a rollover, and in
this case might have prevented the operator being crushed by the
tractor. ROPS first became available as optional equipment on
farm tractors in 1971. These safety features were not required
on tractors, however, until 1976, when OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1928.51
went into effect. Although this standard does not apply to tractors
manufactured prior to 1976, and thus would not apply to the 1966
model tractor in this case, it is possible to retrofit older tractors
with ROPS and seatbelts, and it is strongly recommended that this
be done whenever possible. Tractor owners should contact dealers,
manufacturers, or county extension agents for information on sources
of retrofit ROPS and operator restraint systems.

Recommendation #2: Equipment should be kept in
good working condition.

Discussion: The brakes on this tractor were in
need of repair. Although it is not known whether it would have
changed the outcome in this case, proper preventive and routine
maintenance can reduce risk and minimize injury due to equipment
failures.

Recommendation #3: It is recommended that operators
of farm equipment and machinery have regular examinations by a
qualified physician.

Discussion: Although the victim in this case
had been under the care of a physician, he had not reported to
his doctor that he had felt unwell in the days just preceding
this incident. A physical examination might have revealed symptoms
that would have caused his doctor to advise him not to operate
his tractor or other farm machinery.